‘In winter—when the days are short, damp, and grey—the combination of intense heat followed by a cold dip extinguishes the cobwebs fairly rapidly.’

BY TILLY ROBERTS

These are the words of Tommy O’Driscoll who enjoys taking an ocean plunge after a sauna session in one of Donie McAuliffe’s West Cork saunas.

For Jennifer Doran, who runs a herbal practice in Clonakilty and has teamed up with Donie to create herbal-infused sauna experiences for her workshop guests: ‘It is the exposure to beautiful heat that the bones are missing at this time of the year.’

For some people the heat of the sauna and cold embrace of the sea is all about escape.

‘I love the hiss when the water is ladled over the hot stones,’ described Caragh Bell, who teaches at the Sacred Heart Secondary School in Clonakilty and lives in Skibbereen. ‘The shared challenge of swimming in freezing temperatures brings a certain camaraderie. The exchange of well wishes and reassurance that once you get in, it’s lovely.’

‘When you get in the sea surrounded by ancient hills and the support of the salt water everything else just becomes insignificant,’ said Lindsay McKeon a retired gardener, who loves to visit Donie’s sauna at Kilcrohane pier on the Sheep’s Head peninsula.

Across West Cork, mobile saunas have become a familiar sight and are plentifully dotted on sheltered beaches and remote piers.

Grenville Savage, who regularly visits Mikey from The Heat Shack sauna at Ballyrisode beach, described the appeal in the simplest of terms.

‘West Cork is my favourite part of Ireland’s rugged coastline. The view sat in a sauna, tucked away in a quiet cove, looking out at the roughness of the sea is a big draw with these coasts.’

The restless Atlantic draws people in, but the sauna is what keeps them there on a wet winter’s day.

‘There is a big boom in sauna culture,’ said Donie, who owns and runs West Cork Sauna across multiple locations, from Red Strand to Zetland Pier on the Beara peninsula. He started out four-and-a-half years ago during the pandemic and has watched the culture grow steadily since then.

The sauna is the new pub for me,’ declared Áine Florence, an artist and teacher based in Ballylickey. Úna O’Leary, a retired pre-school teacher, notes: ‘I have had some lovely chats and made
lovely new friends over the last year. All because of using the sauna in Ballyrisode. Now if I miss a day I’m not feeling normal.’

According to Donie, the sauna attracts people from all walks of life, from parents with young kids to people in their early eighties. He also mentioned that there is a larger population of women using the saunas, which he reckons is due to the higher number of women who enjoy sea swimming.

‘Donie is brilliant for bringing people together,’ said Jennifer Doran, ‘and connecting people that would otherwise maybe not have crossed paths.’

For some, connections made in the sauna are changing lives.  Jay Cornish, who works for the National Parks and Wildlife Service, is a member of the Hearty Hulks—a group of 17 men taking part in the 12 Dips of December challenge to raise funds for the Irish Heart Foundation. The group frequents a number of West Cork saunas, including The Badger Sauna in Lough Allua and Donie’s.

Jay said: ‘We are entirely spoiled and very fortunate to enjoy these saunas in one of the most beautiful parts of the world. The sauna operators are all very down to earth, welcoming people, who create an environment where people feel safe and are able to relax.’

He admitted: ‘It’s changed my life. It has removed anxiety and significantly reduced stress. The cold water forces you to be in the present moment. It is the metaphorical slap in the
face that’s needed to steady a person and remove circling thoughts from either the past or future. It demands you to be in the now.’

Many others agree with Jay, ‘I can honestly say I’ve never had a bad sauna,’ said Peter Dorrington, a self-employed plumber living near Drimoleague. ‘In fact the worse you feel going in the better you feel coming out. I’m just grateful that I discovered saunas.’